Sunday, January 29, 2006

I watched 'Born Into Brothels' last night. It won the Academy Award for best documentary last year, but I just got around to seeing it. It was engaging and inspiring. It reminded me of how effective photography is in our world. How it can change ones thinking and reminds us to see...

I am sharing with you here one of my favorite passages. I cannot read this without getting goose bumps. I guess it appeals to my passion for photography.

If you observe an ordinary object or body very closely, it is transformed into something scared. The camera can reveal secrets the naked eye or mind cannot capture; everything disappears except for the thing that is the focus of the picture. The photograph is an exercise in observation, and the result is always a stroke of luck. The camera is a simple apparatus, even the most inept person can use it; the challenge lies in creating with it that combination of truth and beauty called art. That quest is above all spiritual. I seek truth and beauty in the transparency of an autumn leaf, in the perfect form of a seashell on the beach, in the curve of a woman’s back, in the texture of an ancient tree trunk, but also in more elusive forms of reality.Sometimes, working with an image in my darkroom, the soul of a person appears, the emotion of an event or vital essence of some object; at that moment, gratitude explodes in my heart and I cry. I can’t help it.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

One of the things I enjoy playing is the game of Mah Jongg. When our kids were still in grade school I started playing this game every month with three dear friends. The four of us have mixed the tiles, wished for jokers, pot lucked dinners, shared our thoughts, laughed, cried and discovered ourselves over the tiles for the past 10 years. This month we are celebrating our 10th Anniversary of playing Mah Jongg and playing the game of life.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Where did January go? Didn't I just take down my Christmas tree? I have several deadlines that I have been buckling down to tackle. I'm getting the next show ready at A STUDIO GALLERY which is called "LARGE SHOW of small images" Every photo is beautifully matted and framed 8x10, no photo is larger than 5x6...perfect for those small places.... It's going to be really a great group show...deadline is January 31st if you want one of your photos in the exhibit. Go to the website if you want info: http://www.astudiogallery.com or just come to the show...February 19th - March 24th.

There's a big project I've been working on with 14 talented artists that I'm very excited about...sorry I can't say any more about it at this time...but let's hope it can be posted soon...I was notified that an article I wrote 'Stamping into Photographs" is going to be printed in the March/April Somerset Studios magazine. Hope you'll keep a lookout for that.Every minute I can I'm working on my upcoming exhibit 'Beyond the Pale' opening March 26th at A Studio Gallery...I have lot's to do so I better get back to the art room...

Friday, January 06, 2006

...Like the sands through the hourglass... so go the days of our lives...ok, so I could not help myself. I just had to post that my son Jesse has a recurring role as Officer Hammond on "Days Of Our Lives." He is playing a rookie cop trying to solve the hit and run accident that has killed Zack Brady... It's fun watching Jesse on tv and he is having a blast filming it. In case you want to tune in...NBC - 1:00pm pst.